Jaguar World Magazine S-TYPE R vs X350 XJR Jan 2011 Edizione posteriore

I’m writing this column a little later
than I normally would due to the fact that four
snowflakes fell in the South East this morning
and the inevitable gridlock ensued… Even
so, the vagaries of publishing deadlines mean
that it’s still November as I write, but it’ll be
December by the time you read this – so get
your Christmas shopping done quick or there
will be hell to pay!
Looking back now, 2010 has been a very
positive year for Jaguar, and it began with the
driving launch of the XJ. Given that the car had
been unveiled in July of 2009 the anticipation
amongst motoring scribes had built to near
fever pitch once the time came to get behind
the wheel – which would have been bad news
had the driving experience disappointed.
Fortunately, it didn’t, and the reaction to the
car was almost unanimously praiseworthy.
The proof was that in its first full month on sale
in the UK, the XJ outsold its competitor set.
Impressive stuff.
Of course, a key theme
throughout the year has
been the celebration of 75
years since Sir William
Lyons unveiled the
first Jaguars, and
there seems to have
been a groundswell of
public recognition for
the brand in the wake
of those celebrations.
Clearly, none of that would
mean a jot were the current
range not selling well, but in
addition to the XJ both XF and XK models
have continued to perform, and though there
was a global dip during October, overall Jaguar
sales in the financial year-to-date are 21 per
cent higher than at the same point in 2009.
The result of all that is a real feeling of
confidence amongst everyone I’ve spoken to at
the company throughout the year, whether they
are engineers or executives, and an impression
that Jaguar is a happy place to work. There’s
been no greater demonstration of that than the
news, reported on in this issue, that the trade
unions have voted overwhelmingly to accept
the pay deal put forward by Jaguar Land Rover
which means the threat of plant closures has
been removed.